Foreign Minister denies WhatsApp screenshots in Norway deal

The Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has disassociated herself from some WhatsApp chats suggesting a conversation between her and a journalist in relation to the Norway embassy saga.

According to the statement from the Foreign Minister, the screenshots circulating are a creation of malice.

“The good people of Ghana are advised to discount the circulated screenshot as they are creative and crafty renditions of the overactive imaginations who have made it their personal mission to malign, smear and cause disaffection for the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for their own malicious purposes,” the statement said.

The Minister added that she will pursue the source of the said screenshots and ensure that the parties behind the circulation face the full rigours of the law.

Screenshots

The said screenshot contains a conversation purporting to be between the Minister and someone suspected to be a journalist.

The ‘Minister’ was annoyed that the story on the Norway embassy deal was published without consulting her for facts. “…it was a mistake,” the ‘minister’ said.

Norway embassy

The deal in question involves a building in Norway which the Minority in Parliament alleges the Foreign Ministry intends to buy for $12 million when indeed the same building had been priced in 2017 at $3.5million

The Foreign Ministry, however, denies these allegations. According to Mrs. Ayorkor Botchwey, the offer was made to them to purchase the building but they rejected it insisting money had not exchanged hands.